Etsy Shares Double on First Day of Nasdaq Trading
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BROOKLYN, NY – Etsy.com, used by thousands of furniture and cabinetmakers to market wood products, saw shares double to $30 following its public stock debut on April 16.

Etsy, which takes a percent of transactions for goods sold at its site, has also moved into financial services such as credit card systems for retail sales.

The Etsy initial public offering earlier this week was closely watched by investors and portfolio managers on Wall Street and worldwide, as well as by its wood furniture and cabinetmaker users, since it is also a B Corporation - a type of incorporation for businesses that have an over-rising social purpose.

A search for "wood furniture" at Etsy.com returns over 60,000 results of items for sale, including a hand-crafted dining room table and chair set for $700, and a solid cherry wood side table for $695. The 10-year-old firm, whic employs almost 700 people and boasts nearly 20 million active buyers and 1.5 million active sellers.

A search for "wood furniture" at Etsy.com returns over 60,000 results of items for sale, including a hand-crafted dining room table and chair set for $700, and a  solid cherry wood side table for $695. - See more at: http://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood-blogs/industrial-woodworker/prod…

“It turns out Wall Street investors like those homespun crafts,” TechCrunch’s Sarah Buhr wrote, reporting on Etsy. “Shares opened at $31 …, popping up 94% from the initial set price of $16 per share. The company closed its first day of trading at $30 per share, an 86% percent rise from its initial price.

The company raised over $287 million by selling 16.7 million shares before trading, valuing the company at nearly $1.8 billion. The stock went up close to $35 by mid morning. Etsy is now worth more than $3.5 billion.

“The handmade crafts company is not yet turning a profit, but has seen year-over-year growth in revenue for the past few years, rocketing from $74.6 million in 2012, to $125 million in 2013 and to $195.59 million last year,” Buhr says.

 

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